All summer long, and until the kindly rains begin, Worth A Dam man-Friday Jon has been watering the trees. The only water source out that way is the creek so it means he throws a bucket into the water, and hauls it out by rope again and again. We’ve had far fewer tree casualties as a result, and yesterday the “slap” of the bucket produced the “tail slap” of a beaver in response, so you know it’s working!
Two trees were planted on the “amtrak” side of the creek, right near a leaking pipe thats trickle has produced a broad patch of grass. When Jon went to water this weekend he saw two deer browsing the green goodness. One was a small, fearless doe, and her partner was a lovely (barely) six-point buck. They stood irritably while Jon was watering, waiting for him to finish so they could get back to their important work. Jon wished he had a camera but imagine this is what he saw….
Beaver watchers have been deprived a glimpse of mom for the month of September, so if you happen to see her some evening or morning, let us know. Her tail mark is barely visible anymore, but her right eye is very affected, so she’s easy to spot if she faces upstream. We are happy to report that the beavers have finally decided to shift their schedules to match the declining daylight hours. Twice this weekend we saw a yearling out by 7:30 pm which is a relief because no one wants to wait in the dark until 8:30.
Certainly not last night when I was avidly watching Ken Burns describe our National Parks. Did you see the Martinez photos? I liked the narrative very much, but am I the only one who thought that Petteway’s annoying and repititve guitar music detracted from the whole experience? (It was almost a drinking game, every time Sligo Creek started to play again, I wanted to do a shot.)
Our Burrowing Owl friend released this video this weekend, and all I can say is that he must have had help. This is no sloppy perryman attempt, and that see-through emblem in the corner could only have been made using Final Cut, which I have only braved a few times even after hiring a tech to teach me how to use it. I made sure all our friends saw it, and am currently trying to nudge Penny into taking the owls on for her next “Comeback Kids” book.
[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=_goEHp867aI]
Great work, Scott. You are an Inspiration.
